239
(b) THE VALUE OF INFORMATION SERVICES
MISS M. A. LUND, B.SC. Information Officer, Industrial Wastes
Information
Bureau D.
GEORGE,
Information and Chemical Emergency Services, Harwell Laboratory
IN recent years the problems facing the authorities t responsible for refuse disposal have greatly increased in scope and complexity. Pollution problems are newsworthy and the U.K. Government has taken legislative action in passing the Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act 19721 which is shortly to be superseded when the more comprehensive Control of Pollution Act 197422 is implemented. Waste Disposal Authorities (W.D.A.s) have been regrouped into 44 new counties in England although districts continue to have waste disposal responsibilities in Wales and Scotland. Although the new authorities still need time to reorganize, it is appropriate to consider whether the information sources available or needed to help to deal with their problems are adequate, and what might be done to improve them. Although this paper considers the situation in the U.K., the information requirements are common to much of the world. Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Denmark and the U.S. have either drafted or enacted legislation on solid waste disposal and the E.E.C. are drawing up a Directive on waste disposal as part of the Community’s action programme on the environment.3,4 THE PROBLEMS CONTROL of Pollution Act requires each Waste Disposal Authority (W.D.A.) to prepare a waste management plan for itself covering all household, industrial and commercial waste. The plan should be comprehensive and include, where appropriate, arrangements for the disposal and reclamation of wastes by the W.D.A. and disposal contractors. The provisions also require the W.D.A.s to ensure the regulated disposal of dangerous or special wastes such as arise in increasing quantities
THE
in the chemical and allied industries. Production in the chemical industry has more than trebled in the last two decades. W.D.A.s now need a comprehensive knowledge of the methods of disposal of industrial wastes as well as of municipal refuse. Consideration must then be given to how this knowledge should be most effectively and
economically acquired. There is much information. Work
on
environmental
problems is being carried on throughout the world. For example, in the U.K., the Warren Spring Laboratory has developed techniques for the separation of metals from refuse and scrap cars and for the pyrolysis of refuse. In the U.S. extensive programmes into recovery of municipal refuse are being carried out by the Environmental
Protection Agency (E.P.A.) and the Bureau of Mines a wide range of techniques, including the production of methane by the Pfeffer biological process-; the separation of glass, paper, plastics and metals using infrared radiation 6the separation of aluminium and non-ferrous metals by eddy current7 techniques and ferrous metals by magnetic separation; gravity and flotation techniques are employed in the Black Clawson Hydrasposal/FibreclaiM8 process for separation of organic and inorganic fractions, metals and plastics. The employment of the latter process is being considered by the Greater London Council 9. In Japan fullscale plants are in operation for the pyrolysis of plastic wastes10 and in Europe incineration has been successfully coupled with electricity or steam generation.&dquo; 12 It is becoming impracticable to keep abreast of current developments by reading primary information sources in the literature. There are more than 10,000 scientific and technical journals published which could include relevant articles on environmental problems. In the U.S. more than 1100 environmental control patents were granted by the U.S. Patent Office in 1972, and more than 280 meetings and conferences with published proceedings were held in 1973. The E.P.A. has a computerized data store of 18,000 references on solid waste (S.W.I.R. S.).13 A similar information storage and retrieval system is now being operated in the U.K. since the Department of the Environment sponsored the setting up of the Industrial Wastes Information Bureau in October 1973. Typical of the more complex problems received from W.D.A.s by the latter Information Bureau include requests for information on the latest technology for the incineration and gas scrubbing of plating and metal finishing effluents and on firms supplying equipment for this purpose. A literature search from the data bank showed that suitable processes had been developed and that amongst others, U.K., German, and Japanese companies provided specialized incineration systems for this purpose with recovery of metal values. Requests have also been made for firms supplying special-purpose incinerators for solvents or animal carcases. W.D.A.s and Water Authorities have sought advice on methods for the abatement of odours and were supplied with a computer bibliography on the subject which included firms supplying odour masking compounds. There has been much interest in lining materials for landfill sites and the computer store provided a print out on the subject within a few minutes on one occasion for a
covering
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
240 W.D.A. who required the information business meeting.
quickly for
a
U.K. SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION THE Department of the Environment (DoE) is the centre of initiative on most environmental matters in the U.K. The Headquarters Libraries of the department include an extensive information service dealing with over 1000 internal and external enquiries per week. Advice is given on the administrative aspects of collection, storage and disposal of municipal refuse and on toxic and industrial wastes by providing references to relevant legislation and DoE publications and technical advice is given by experts within the Department’s Waste Disposal Division. The Library issues a fortnightly abstract bulletin which includes a section on refuse collection and disposal. The stock of 200,000 books and pamphlets is available for reference and visits may be arranged by appointment for local authorities and bona fide research workers, etc. The Library is the national centre for the exchange of information with the U.S. and holds all E.P.A. reports on microfiche. The DoE publishes an Annual List of Publicationsl4 covering all their departmental work, H.M.S.O. publi-
cations, statutory instruments, regulations, legislation, circulars, etc. A slide Library* operates a loan service from a bank of many thousand slides including illustrations of pollution problems. The Institute of Solid Waste Management is a professional body with members drawn initially from local authorities but recently it has extended its membership to include waste disposal contractors. It will advise members on problems of solid waste management. A technical committee of twelve experts will give advice on the collection and disposal of wastes and when necessary refer the enquirer to other centres of expertise. The Institute has a library which is available to members. THE INDUSTRIAL WASTES INFORMATION BUREAU THE BUREAU operates a computer data bank, publishes a monthly Information Bulletin, and advises on waste problems. It is operated by the Hazardous Materials Service (H.M.S.), part of the Harwell Laboratory. The Laboratory has built up considerable experience in the treatment and disposal of wastes in connection with various research projects over the past twenty-five years and H.M.S. is able to call on the whole of the research effort at Harwell, now extensively diversified into work for Industry. The information in the data bank covers treatment and disposal of wastes, elimination of waste streams by improvements in process design or by recovery procedures, current environmental legislation and hazards arising from the disposal, handling or transport of wastes. Information on municipal refuse disposal is also included, particularly when it involves the management of industrial wastes, for example the combined disposal of municipal refuse and industrial wastes to
landfill. The Harwell main library scans about 2000 periodicals, and directs relevant material to the Industrial Wastes Bureau. Reports, patents literature and conference proceedings, are also scanned and use is made of
secondary
sources
such
as
bibliographies, pollution
DoE Slide Library, Room 601, Prince Consort House, Albert Embankment, London, SEI 7TG. Tel : 01-211 6926.
abstracts and other information systems. Relevant trade brochures are obtained. Papers are keyworded and abstracted by professional staff, and the information is stored in the Harwell IBM370 computer, in the format illustrated in Figure 1. Author and subject indexes are produced automatically from the computer and the Information Bulletin itself is computer type-set. The final stages of the Bulletin publication are carried out by the Harwell Reproduction Section. Each Bulletin contains 180 to 200 items and a balance is kept between technical information of interest to the industrial chemist immediately concerned with waste processing and material of a more general nature for those who wish to keep informed on current developments covering a wide field. The keywords >are the basis of the retrieval system. In response to queries a list of relevant documents with their references and abstracts can be retrieved in a few minutes from the computer data bank by suitable selection of keywords. An example of part of an answer to an actual enquiry on the choice of a suitable lining material for a landfill site is given in Figure l. Some enquiries cannot be answered completely by referring to the literature and might be referred to one of our consultancy staff by agreement with the enquirer. The computer programme is versatile, and in addition to keywords the data may be searched for author names, journal titles or for single words or groups in the title or abstract
using ’and/or’ logic. A feature of the service is that every document entered into the computer data bank is held in our library. A photocopying service operates for Bulletin subscribers if difficulty is experienced in obtaining the document through normal sources such as the British Lending Library and the British Patent Office. We also have a rapidly expanding library which subscribers are welcome to visit by appointment. The annual subscription to the Bureau is £30 for U.K. subscribers which includes the monthly bulletins, biannual indexes, access to the Library and specific computer print-outs in response to queries. Enquiries requiring additional work are chargeable on a normal consultancy basis. The data bank is accumulating items at the rate of 3000 a year, 2000 of which appear in the Information Bulletin. Other material in the data bank is accessible to Bulletin subscribers through the search procedure. Part of the data bank is devoted to material in support of the Landfill Research Project, a three-year research programme between H.M.S., the Institute of Geological Sciences and the Water Research Centre. Its objectives are to examine environmental problems associated with landfill and to provide guidelines for safe management. In addition the Bureau operates a Current Awareness Service in which items from the daily press, etc., are scanned and information on current developments in processing plant, treatment methods, research projects and legislation are entered into the data bank and are available for retrieval. After 15 months’ operation the Bureau had approximately 400 subscribers at the end of 1974, and new subscribers are still joining. The Warren Spring Laboratory, Department of Industry, devotes part of its research effort to environmental problems, mainly recovery of materials. Its interests include pyrolysis of domestic refuse15 to give combustible fuel oil and gas, and the separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals from incinerator residues and refuse 16. The Laboratory will answer queries on any aspect of their work.
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
241 Figure I
After consultation between Government Departments and the Chemical Industry it was agreed that a Waste Materials Exchange service should be operated by the Laboratory. This is now established and puts waste producers in touch with potential waste users whilst respecting the confidentiality of the organizations supplying the information. The Local Government Operational Research Unit undertakes studies to assist local authorities manage-
including waste disposal operations. Systems analysis and computer programming are used to formulate a cost-effective strategy including such factors as land reclamation, transport and transfer facilities. The National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors, the Road Haulage Association and the Chemical Recovery Association will give advice on the scope of the services offered by members of their respective organisament,
tions. The Glass Manufacturers Federation have set up a Glass Advisory Council on the uses of cullet and will advise on firms accepting cullet in any area in the U .K.17 Comprehensive listings of U.K. research on environmental problems are available from U.K. government sourcesls,l9. The Research Section of the DoE Headquarters Library is involved with the Building Research Establishment and Transport and Road Research Laboratory Libraries in an anni al collation of U.K. research and survey project desciiptions in planning, pollution, building and transport. The 1975 Registers are to be published about September and will be available free from DoE Libraries. Principal professional and research institutions concerned with refuse disposal in the U.K. are collated in Table I.
INFORMATION SOURCES AND THE COUNTY WASTE DISPOSAL PLAN AN IMPORTANT duty facing the new W.D.A.s is to evaluate the disposal facilities within their area and to prepare a waste management plan. A prerequisite for the plan is a survey of all the waste arisings in the County. The Wastes Survey Unit at Harwell in co-operation with Pencol Engineering Consultants carried out a pilot survey in Cheshire2° following the draft guide memorandum on waste surveys prepared by the DoE in 197321, with the object of providing a practical example for the guidance of other counties. An independent information system has been developed for the processing of the data resulting from such surveys. This is a computer-based system which makes it possible to retrieve information in a variety of forms on categories of waste, the source of their arisings, and their disposal routes to landfill sites within or outside the county. The programme can be operated without specific knowledge of computing. From it, types and quantities of specified wastes can be identified and the suitability of disposal sites ensured. The advantages to be gained by W.D.A.s using similar systems would be considerable, since then a picture of the waste arisings in the U.K. could be developed by combining the individual county surveys. The Act requires waste management plans to be regularly updated and Central Government would then have the means of
identifying major new problems as they arose, assessing the efficacy of existing disposal methods and examining the need for regional waste processing or reclamation centres. The U.S. are in the process of establishing twenty such regional centres.22
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
242
.........--
..............
--
..-
-.-
-.
----,--
TABLE I U.K. Information Sources on SoHd Waste Management
PRESENT AND FUTURE
REQUIREMENTS
THERE is concern among W.D.A.s and others involved with waste management about the lack of information on the quantities and composition of industrial wastes arisings and their associated environmental hazards. The composition and quantities of domestic refuse arisings are on the other hand better documented.
.....
The DoEs Working Group on Waste Disposal Legislation is setting up sub-groups to assess problems associated with substances which could give rise to treatment and disposal problems, such as arsenic, farm wastes, heat treatment cyanide-containing wastes, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The Waste Research Unit of the Harwell Laboratory provides research and information support to these sub-groups. The recently formed
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
243
Management Advisory Council has set up working parties to examine several topics on recovery and re-
Waste
clamation23.
There seems to be a need for unbiased objective surveys of the technology and available equipment for the various disposal routes, e.g. incinerators, balers, etc. demonstrated by the recent report on compactors by the Building Research Station24. Appen-
pulverizers
dices to the Sumner Report on Refuse Disposal, published in 197125, give data on tonnages of domestic refuse handled in the U.K., the extent of use of pulverization, transfer stations, an assessment of present and future availability of landfill sites, on the economics of refuse incineration with heat recovery, and on land reclamation. Regular updating of such information would be desirable. This could develop from combining the results of W.D.A. surveys. Computerization by a central agency would then be preferable to deal with the large amount of data generated and appropriate programming would enable the data to be readily analysed and printed in various ways. The costly time of the expert is thus kept to a minimum. A system of this type operates in the Netherlands26. Data
waste arisings is processed, regional waste discentres are licensed by Government, reports are made on the waste disposal operations to the central on
posal
and research is commissioned on the basis of the information received. There is much to be gained from the exchange of information on an international basis and many formal ex-
organization
are being introduced. For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now arranged for the exchange of environmental information with European National Environmental Agencies. An international referral system for sources of environmental information has the support of the 1972 United Nations Conference of the Human Environment2’, the initial purpose of which is to establish a directory of information services and will include data banks. Progress has been made in establishing an Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network (E.C.D.I.N.) to which H.M.S., the U.K. Chemical Information Service at Nottingham, and the European Research Centre at Ispra in Italy are contributing. The objective is to create a comprehensive data bank on the properties of chemicals of environmental significance. The World Health Organization’s International Reference Centre for Wastes Disposal is making comparable arrangements for the exchange of information on municipal refuse disposal. World guides to environmental information sources have been published by the Flemish Economic Association28and the DoE29.
change arrangements
CONCLUSIONS IMPLEMENTATION
the 1974 Control of Pollution Act will require the W.D.A.s to have access to comprehensive sources of information on municipal refuse and on industrial waste to ensure effective management of their operations. Much has already been done to provide this information, and there are signs that more will be done to further improve the situation, in spite of present financial stringency. The outlook is encouraging. OF
3 4
Anon., Legislation in the EEC, NAWDC News (Jan. 1975). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Europe: International
Environmental Bibliographies; Environmental Legislation, NTIS PB 227 147 (Mar. 1974). 5 J. T. PFEFFER (1974), Reclamation of Energy from Organic Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 670/2 74 016, PB 231 176 (March), HMS 3490.* 6 P. F. WINKLER, An Infra Red Spectral Sensor for Refuse Sorting, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 670/2 74 031, PB 229 901 (April), HMS 3250. 7 E. J. SOMNER and G. R. KENNY (1974), An Electromagnetic System for the Dry Recovery of Non-ferrous Metals from Shredded Municipal Solid Waste, Proc. 4th Symp. Mineral Waste Utilisation, Chicago, Illinois, 7-8 May, U.S. Bureau of Mines, pp. 77-84, HMS 3208. 8 Anon. (1973), Raw Materials from Refuse, Reclamation Industries International (Nov./Dec.). 9 Anon. (1974), U.S. Recycling Technology for Great Britain, New Scientist, 64, 924 (21 Nov.), p. 570. 10 Anon. (1974), Japan Focuses on Petroleum Recycle from Waste Materials, Eur. Chem. News, 25, 618 (11 Jan.), p. 18, HMS 1752. 11 . (1974), Resource Recovery of Processes, W. E. FRANKLIN et al
Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City (U.S.), Report No. PB 214 148 (Feb.), HMS 676. 12 F. R. JACKSON (1974), Energy from Solid Waste, Noyes Data Corporation, HMS 3321. 13 S. B. TUWINER (Ed.) (1973), Environmental Science Technology Information Resources Noyes Data Corporation, New Jersey, U.S.A., p. 74. 14 Department of the Environment. Annual List of Publications. 15 . (1974), The Pyrolysis of Wastes and Product E. DOUGLAS et al Assessment, Inst. Solid Waste Management Symposium— Treatment and Recycling of Solid Waste, Manchester, (11 Jan.), pp. 45-73, HMS 1076. 16 E. DOUGLAS and D. V. JACKSON (1973), Waste as a Raw Material, J. Soc. Environ. Eng., 53 (Jun.), pp. 10-15. 17 Anon. (1974), Glass Recycling Directory, Glass Manufacturers Federation, London, HMS 3450. 18 Inter-Research Council Committee on Pollution Research; Pollution Research and the Research Councils, II Report. Ministry of Agriculture, London (July 1973). 19 Department of the Environment. Index of Current Government and Government-Supported Research in Environmental Pollution in Great Britain, 1973 (Sept. 1974). 20 Pencol Engineering Consultants and Harwell Industrial Wastes Survey Unit, Cheshire County Council—Wastes Disposal Survey and Report on Strategic Planning (June 1974), HMS 2859. (Obtainable from County Secretary, County Hall, Chester CH1 1SF, England). 21 DoE Draft Memorandum WDP (73) 7 REV2 (1973). 22 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Disposal of Hazardous Wastes, US EPA SW 115 (1974), HMS 2630. 23 Anon. (1975), Waste Council Plans its First Reports, Mun.
,1 (3 Jan.). Engng., 152 24 D. E. SEXTON (1973), Studies of Refuse Compaction and Incineration in Multi-Storey Flats, Building Research Establishment (UK), CP 12/93, HMS 3225. 25 Department of the Environment, Refuse Disposal, HMSO, London (1971), pp. 141-198. 26 M. SCHWER (1973), Dutch Foundation Frames a Master Plan, Surveyor, 142, 4246 (26 Oct.), pp. 38-40, HMS 2073. 27 J. E. PEACHEY (1974), Environmental Systems and Data Handling, Proc. R. Soc. London., B. 185, pp. 209-219. 28 J. O. MEKEIRLE (Ed.) (1974), Guide to Information Sources on Environmental Science and Technology. Flemish Economic 29
Association, Antwerp, Belgium. Department of the Environment, Sources of Information Environmental Pollution (July 1973).
on
* Industrial Wastes Information Bureau accession number
REFERENCES 1
2
U.K. Parliament, Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act, Chapter 21, HMSO (1972). UK Parliament, Control of Pollution Act, Chapter 40, HMSO
(1974).
These papers were presented at the Environmental Health Officers and Joint Session of the Health Congress, Eastbourne, 23 April 1975.
Ecology
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
(b) THE VALUE OF INFORMATION SERVICES
MISS M. A. LUND, B.SC. Information Officer, Industrial Wastes
Information
Bureau D.
GEORGE,
Information and Chemical Emergency Services, Harwell Laboratory
IN recent years the problems facing the authorities t responsible for refuse disposal have greatly increased in scope and complexity. Pollution problems are newsworthy and the U.K. Government has taken legislative action in passing the Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act 19721 which is shortly to be superseded when the more comprehensive Control of Pollution Act 197422 is implemented. Waste Disposal Authorities (W.D.A.s) have been regrouped into 44 new counties in England although districts continue to have waste disposal responsibilities in Wales and Scotland. Although the new authorities still need time to reorganize, it is appropriate to consider whether the information sources available or needed to help to deal with their problems are adequate, and what might be done to improve them. Although this paper considers the situation in the U.K., the information requirements are common to much of the world. Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Denmark and the U.S. have either drafted or enacted legislation on solid waste disposal and the E.E.C. are drawing up a Directive on waste disposal as part of the Community’s action programme on the environment.3,4 THE PROBLEMS CONTROL of Pollution Act requires each Waste Disposal Authority (W.D.A.) to prepare a waste management plan for itself covering all household, industrial and commercial waste. The plan should be comprehensive and include, where appropriate, arrangements for the disposal and reclamation of wastes by the W.D.A. and disposal contractors. The provisions also require the W.D.A.s to ensure the regulated disposal of dangerous or special wastes such as arise in increasing quantities
THE
in the chemical and allied industries. Production in the chemical industry has more than trebled in the last two decades. W.D.A.s now need a comprehensive knowledge of the methods of disposal of industrial wastes as well as of municipal refuse. Consideration must then be given to how this knowledge should be most effectively and
economically acquired. There is much information. Work
on
environmental
problems is being carried on throughout the world. For example, in the U.K., the Warren Spring Laboratory has developed techniques for the separation of metals from refuse and scrap cars and for the pyrolysis of refuse. In the U.S. extensive programmes into recovery of municipal refuse are being carried out by the Environmental
Protection Agency (E.P.A.) and the Bureau of Mines a wide range of techniques, including the production of methane by the Pfeffer biological process-; the separation of glass, paper, plastics and metals using infrared radiation 6the separation of aluminium and non-ferrous metals by eddy current7 techniques and ferrous metals by magnetic separation; gravity and flotation techniques are employed in the Black Clawson Hydrasposal/FibreclaiM8 process for separation of organic and inorganic fractions, metals and plastics. The employment of the latter process is being considered by the Greater London Council 9. In Japan fullscale plants are in operation for the pyrolysis of plastic wastes10 and in Europe incineration has been successfully coupled with electricity or steam generation.&dquo; 12 It is becoming impracticable to keep abreast of current developments by reading primary information sources in the literature. There are more than 10,000 scientific and technical journals published which could include relevant articles on environmental problems. In the U.S. more than 1100 environmental control patents were granted by the U.S. Patent Office in 1972, and more than 280 meetings and conferences with published proceedings were held in 1973. The E.P.A. has a computerized data store of 18,000 references on solid waste (S.W.I.R. S.).13 A similar information storage and retrieval system is now being operated in the U.K. since the Department of the Environment sponsored the setting up of the Industrial Wastes Information Bureau in October 1973. Typical of the more complex problems received from W.D.A.s by the latter Information Bureau include requests for information on the latest technology for the incineration and gas scrubbing of plating and metal finishing effluents and on firms supplying equipment for this purpose. A literature search from the data bank showed that suitable processes had been developed and that amongst others, U.K., German, and Japanese companies provided specialized incineration systems for this purpose with recovery of metal values. Requests have also been made for firms supplying special-purpose incinerators for solvents or animal carcases. W.D.A.s and Water Authorities have sought advice on methods for the abatement of odours and were supplied with a computer bibliography on the subject which included firms supplying odour masking compounds. There has been much interest in lining materials for landfill sites and the computer store provided a print out on the subject within a few minutes on one occasion for a
covering
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
240 W.D.A. who required the information business meeting.
quickly for
a
U.K. SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION THE Department of the Environment (DoE) is the centre of initiative on most environmental matters in the U.K. The Headquarters Libraries of the department include an extensive information service dealing with over 1000 internal and external enquiries per week. Advice is given on the administrative aspects of collection, storage and disposal of municipal refuse and on toxic and industrial wastes by providing references to relevant legislation and DoE publications and technical advice is given by experts within the Department’s Waste Disposal Division. The Library issues a fortnightly abstract bulletin which includes a section on refuse collection and disposal. The stock of 200,000 books and pamphlets is available for reference and visits may be arranged by appointment for local authorities and bona fide research workers, etc. The Library is the national centre for the exchange of information with the U.S. and holds all E.P.A. reports on microfiche. The DoE publishes an Annual List of Publicationsl4 covering all their departmental work, H.M.S.O. publi-
cations, statutory instruments, regulations, legislation, circulars, etc. A slide Library* operates a loan service from a bank of many thousand slides including illustrations of pollution problems. The Institute of Solid Waste Management is a professional body with members drawn initially from local authorities but recently it has extended its membership to include waste disposal contractors. It will advise members on problems of solid waste management. A technical committee of twelve experts will give advice on the collection and disposal of wastes and when necessary refer the enquirer to other centres of expertise. The Institute has a library which is available to members. THE INDUSTRIAL WASTES INFORMATION BUREAU THE BUREAU operates a computer data bank, publishes a monthly Information Bulletin, and advises on waste problems. It is operated by the Hazardous Materials Service (H.M.S.), part of the Harwell Laboratory. The Laboratory has built up considerable experience in the treatment and disposal of wastes in connection with various research projects over the past twenty-five years and H.M.S. is able to call on the whole of the research effort at Harwell, now extensively diversified into work for Industry. The information in the data bank covers treatment and disposal of wastes, elimination of waste streams by improvements in process design or by recovery procedures, current environmental legislation and hazards arising from the disposal, handling or transport of wastes. Information on municipal refuse disposal is also included, particularly when it involves the management of industrial wastes, for example the combined disposal of municipal refuse and industrial wastes to
landfill. The Harwell main library scans about 2000 periodicals, and directs relevant material to the Industrial Wastes Bureau. Reports, patents literature and conference proceedings, are also scanned and use is made of
secondary
sources
such
as
bibliographies, pollution
DoE Slide Library, Room 601, Prince Consort House, Albert Embankment, London, SEI 7TG. Tel : 01-211 6926.
abstracts and other information systems. Relevant trade brochures are obtained. Papers are keyworded and abstracted by professional staff, and the information is stored in the Harwell IBM370 computer, in the format illustrated in Figure 1. Author and subject indexes are produced automatically from the computer and the Information Bulletin itself is computer type-set. The final stages of the Bulletin publication are carried out by the Harwell Reproduction Section. Each Bulletin contains 180 to 200 items and a balance is kept between technical information of interest to the industrial chemist immediately concerned with waste processing and material of a more general nature for those who wish to keep informed on current developments covering a wide field. The keywords >are the basis of the retrieval system. In response to queries a list of relevant documents with their references and abstracts can be retrieved in a few minutes from the computer data bank by suitable selection of keywords. An example of part of an answer to an actual enquiry on the choice of a suitable lining material for a landfill site is given in Figure l. Some enquiries cannot be answered completely by referring to the literature and might be referred to one of our consultancy staff by agreement with the enquirer. The computer programme is versatile, and in addition to keywords the data may be searched for author names, journal titles or for single words or groups in the title or abstract
using ’and/or’ logic. A feature of the service is that every document entered into the computer data bank is held in our library. A photocopying service operates for Bulletin subscribers if difficulty is experienced in obtaining the document through normal sources such as the British Lending Library and the British Patent Office. We also have a rapidly expanding library which subscribers are welcome to visit by appointment. The annual subscription to the Bureau is £30 for U.K. subscribers which includes the monthly bulletins, biannual indexes, access to the Library and specific computer print-outs in response to queries. Enquiries requiring additional work are chargeable on a normal consultancy basis. The data bank is accumulating items at the rate of 3000 a year, 2000 of which appear in the Information Bulletin. Other material in the data bank is accessible to Bulletin subscribers through the search procedure. Part of the data bank is devoted to material in support of the Landfill Research Project, a three-year research programme between H.M.S., the Institute of Geological Sciences and the Water Research Centre. Its objectives are to examine environmental problems associated with landfill and to provide guidelines for safe management. In addition the Bureau operates a Current Awareness Service in which items from the daily press, etc., are scanned and information on current developments in processing plant, treatment methods, research projects and legislation are entered into the data bank and are available for retrieval. After 15 months’ operation the Bureau had approximately 400 subscribers at the end of 1974, and new subscribers are still joining. The Warren Spring Laboratory, Department of Industry, devotes part of its research effort to environmental problems, mainly recovery of materials. Its interests include pyrolysis of domestic refuse15 to give combustible fuel oil and gas, and the separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals from incinerator residues and refuse 16. The Laboratory will answer queries on any aspect of their work.
Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at University of Birmingham on June 11, 2015
241 Figure I
After consultation between Government Departments and the Chemical Industry it was agreed that a Waste Materials Exchange service should be operated by the Laboratory. This is now established and puts waste producers in touch with potential waste users whilst respecting the confidentiality of the organizations supplying the information. The Local Government Operational Research Unit undertakes studies to assist local authorities manage-
including waste disposal operations. Systems analysis and computer programming are used to formulate a cost-effective strategy including such factors as land reclamation, transport and transfer facilities. The National Association of Waste Disposal Contractors, the Road Haulage Association and the Chemical Recovery Association will give advice on the scope of the services offered by members of their respective organisament,
tions. The Glass Manufacturers Federation have set up a Glass Advisory Council on the uses of cullet and will advise on firms accepting cullet in any area in the U .K.17 Comprehensive listings of U.K. research on environmental problems are available from U.K. government sourcesls,l9. The Research Section of the DoE Headquarters Library is involved with the Building Research Establishment and Transport and Road Research Laboratory Libraries in an anni al collation of U.K. research and survey project desciiptions in planning, pollution, building and transport. The 1975 Registers are to be published about September and will be available free from DoE Libraries. Principal professional and research institutions concerned with refuse disposal in the U.K. are collated in Table I.
INFORMATION SOURCES AND THE COUNTY WASTE DISPOSAL PLAN AN IMPORTANT duty facing the new W.D.A.s is to evaluate the disposal facilities within their area and to prepare a waste management plan. A prerequisite for the plan is a survey of all the waste arisings in the County. The Wastes Survey Unit at Harwell in co-operation with Pencol Engineering Consultants carried out a pilot survey in Cheshire2° following the draft guide memorandum on waste surveys prepared by the DoE in 197321, with the object of providing a practical example for the guidance of other counties. An independent information system has been developed for the processing of the data resulting from such surveys. This is a computer-based system which makes it possible to retrieve information in a variety of forms on categories of waste, the source of their arisings, and their disposal routes to landfill sites within or outside the county. The programme can be operated without specific knowledge of computing. From it, types and quantities of specified wastes can be identified and the suitability of disposal sites ensured. The advantages to be gained by W.D.A.s using similar systems would be considerable, since then a picture of the waste arisings in the U.K. could be developed by combining the individual county surveys. The Act requires waste management plans to be regularly updated and Central Government would then have the means of
identifying major new problems as they arose, assessing the efficacy of existing disposal methods and examining the need for regional waste processing or reclamation centres. The U.S. are in the process of establishing twenty such regional centres.22
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TABLE I U.K. Information Sources on SoHd Waste Management
PRESENT AND FUTURE
REQUIREMENTS
THERE is concern among W.D.A.s and others involved with waste management about the lack of information on the quantities and composition of industrial wastes arisings and their associated environmental hazards. The composition and quantities of domestic refuse arisings are on the other hand better documented.
.....
The DoEs Working Group on Waste Disposal Legislation is setting up sub-groups to assess problems associated with substances which could give rise to treatment and disposal problems, such as arsenic, farm wastes, heat treatment cyanide-containing wastes, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The Waste Research Unit of the Harwell Laboratory provides research and information support to these sub-groups. The recently formed
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243
Management Advisory Council has set up working parties to examine several topics on recovery and re-
Waste
clamation23.
There seems to be a need for unbiased objective surveys of the technology and available equipment for the various disposal routes, e.g. incinerators, balers, etc. demonstrated by the recent report on compactors by the Building Research Station24. Appen-
pulverizers
dices to the Sumner Report on Refuse Disposal, published in 197125, give data on tonnages of domestic refuse handled in the U.K., the extent of use of pulverization, transfer stations, an assessment of present and future availability of landfill sites, on the economics of refuse incineration with heat recovery, and on land reclamation. Regular updating of such information would be desirable. This could develop from combining the results of W.D.A. surveys. Computerization by a central agency would then be preferable to deal with the large amount of data generated and appropriate programming would enable the data to be readily analysed and printed in various ways. The costly time of the expert is thus kept to a minimum. A system of this type operates in the Netherlands26. Data
waste arisings is processed, regional waste discentres are licensed by Government, reports are made on the waste disposal operations to the central on
posal
and research is commissioned on the basis of the information received. There is much to be gained from the exchange of information on an international basis and many formal ex-
organization
are being introduced. For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now arranged for the exchange of environmental information with European National Environmental Agencies. An international referral system for sources of environmental information has the support of the 1972 United Nations Conference of the Human Environment2’, the initial purpose of which is to establish a directory of information services and will include data banks. Progress has been made in establishing an Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network (E.C.D.I.N.) to which H.M.S., the U.K. Chemical Information Service at Nottingham, and the European Research Centre at Ispra in Italy are contributing. The objective is to create a comprehensive data bank on the properties of chemicals of environmental significance. The World Health Organization’s International Reference Centre for Wastes Disposal is making comparable arrangements for the exchange of information on municipal refuse disposal. World guides to environmental information sources have been published by the Flemish Economic Association28and the DoE29.
change arrangements
CONCLUSIONS IMPLEMENTATION
the 1974 Control of Pollution Act will require the W.D.A.s to have access to comprehensive sources of information on municipal refuse and on industrial waste to ensure effective management of their operations. Much has already been done to provide this information, and there are signs that more will be done to further improve the situation, in spite of present financial stringency. The outlook is encouraging. OF
3 4
Anon., Legislation in the EEC, NAWDC News (Jan. 1975). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Europe: International
Environmental Bibliographies; Environmental Legislation, NTIS PB 227 147 (Mar. 1974). 5 J. T. PFEFFER (1974), Reclamation of Energy from Organic Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 670/2 74 016, PB 231 176 (March), HMS 3490.* 6 P. F. WINKLER, An Infra Red Spectral Sensor for Refuse Sorting, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 670/2 74 031, PB 229 901 (April), HMS 3250. 7 E. J. SOMNER and G. R. KENNY (1974), An Electromagnetic System for the Dry Recovery of Non-ferrous Metals from Shredded Municipal Solid Waste, Proc. 4th Symp. Mineral Waste Utilisation, Chicago, Illinois, 7-8 May, U.S. Bureau of Mines, pp. 77-84, HMS 3208. 8 Anon. (1973), Raw Materials from Refuse, Reclamation Industries International (Nov./Dec.). 9 Anon. (1974), U.S. Recycling Technology for Great Britain, New Scientist, 64, 924 (21 Nov.), p. 570. 10 Anon. (1974), Japan Focuses on Petroleum Recycle from Waste Materials, Eur. Chem. News, 25, 618 (11 Jan.), p. 18, HMS 1752. 11 . (1974), Resource Recovery of Processes, W. E. FRANKLIN et al
Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City (U.S.), Report No. PB 214 148 (Feb.), HMS 676. 12 F. R. JACKSON (1974), Energy from Solid Waste, Noyes Data Corporation, HMS 3321. 13 S. B. TUWINER (Ed.) (1973), Environmental Science Technology Information Resources Noyes Data Corporation, New Jersey, U.S.A., p. 74. 14 Department of the Environment. Annual List of Publications. 15 . (1974), The Pyrolysis of Wastes and Product E. DOUGLAS et al Assessment, Inst. Solid Waste Management Symposium— Treatment and Recycling of Solid Waste, Manchester, (11 Jan.), pp. 45-73, HMS 1076. 16 E. DOUGLAS and D. V. JACKSON (1973), Waste as a Raw Material, J. Soc. Environ. Eng., 53 (Jun.), pp. 10-15. 17 Anon. (1974), Glass Recycling Directory, Glass Manufacturers Federation, London, HMS 3450. 18 Inter-Research Council Committee on Pollution Research; Pollution Research and the Research Councils, II Report. Ministry of Agriculture, London (July 1973). 19 Department of the Environment. Index of Current Government and Government-Supported Research in Environmental Pollution in Great Britain, 1973 (Sept. 1974). 20 Pencol Engineering Consultants and Harwell Industrial Wastes Survey Unit, Cheshire County Council—Wastes Disposal Survey and Report on Strategic Planning (June 1974), HMS 2859. (Obtainable from County Secretary, County Hall, Chester CH1 1SF, England). 21 DoE Draft Memorandum WDP (73) 7 REV2 (1973). 22 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Disposal of Hazardous Wastes, US EPA SW 115 (1974), HMS 2630. 23 Anon. (1975), Waste Council Plans its First Reports, Mun.
,1 (3 Jan.). Engng., 152 24 D. E. SEXTON (1973), Studies of Refuse Compaction and Incineration in Multi-Storey Flats, Building Research Establishment (UK), CP 12/93, HMS 3225. 25 Department of the Environment, Refuse Disposal, HMSO, London (1971), pp. 141-198. 26 M. SCHWER (1973), Dutch Foundation Frames a Master Plan, Surveyor, 142, 4246 (26 Oct.), pp. 38-40, HMS 2073. 27 J. E. PEACHEY (1974), Environmental Systems and Data Handling, Proc. R. Soc. London., B. 185, pp. 209-219. 28 J. O. MEKEIRLE (Ed.) (1974), Guide to Information Sources on Environmental Science and Technology. Flemish Economic 29
Association, Antwerp, Belgium. Department of the Environment, Sources of Information Environmental Pollution (July 1973).
on
* Industrial Wastes Information Bureau accession number
REFERENCES 1
2
U.K. Parliament, Deposit of Poisonous Wastes Act, Chapter 21, HMSO (1972). UK Parliament, Control of Pollution Act, Chapter 40, HMSO
(1974).
These papers were presented at the Environmental Health Officers and Joint Session of the Health Congress, Eastbourne, 23 April 1975.
Ecology
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